<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/10/headlines-exaggerated-climate-link-to-sinking-of-pacific-islands" rel="nofollow">http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/10/headlines...</a><p>"Report’s author says many media outlets have misinterpreted the science by conflating sea-level rise with climate change"
Interesting counter-argument[1] suggests 1) data was cherry picked:<p>"The alarmistic claim originates from riding the positive phase of the inter-annual, decadal and multi-decadal oscillations typical of the sea levels over a cherry picked short time window of 10-15 years, neglecting what was measured before 1994 by another tide gauge in pretty much same location, and also neglecting what has been measured in the same tide gauge since 2009.<p>Short records do not permit to clear the trend of the inter-annual, decadal and multi-decadal oscillations [4-8]. In the Solomon Islands there is no tide gauge long enough to infer a proper trend. However, the information available permits to dismiss the alarmist claim of 7-10 mm yr-1 rate of rise."<p>2) statistically not enough data for trends in sea levels:<p>"Also including Honiara II, starting from December 1974 the rate of rise is +2.81 mm yr-1. The time window is now 42 years long, still insufficient, but certainly more reasonable. Considering 60-70 years of data are needed to start understanding a trend in sea levels, very likely these +2.81 mm yr-1 are still an overestimation of the relative rate of rise."<p>[1] <a href="https://wattsupwiththat.com/2016/05/10/busted-claim-data-shows-that-climate-induced-sea-level-rise-didnt-wipe-out-five-solomon-islands/" rel="nofollow">https://wattsupwiththat.com/2016/05/10/busted-claim-data-sho...</a>
You know what's sad? I remember my right-wing geography teacher telling us students that this would happen way back in the 90s. It's sad that one of the main parties in U.S. politics doesn't think this could, would or is happening.
It's a problem that's been recognised for some time. In fact the United Nations had the third conference on this back in 2014. <a href="http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/news/sustainable/focus-on-sustainable-islands.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/news/sustainable/focus...</a>